Just like I promised
by bluexdaffodil
Summary: At the end of the "Partners in the Divorce" Booth and Brennan both admitted that they have a lot to work on. One shot, set after 8x02, where Booth and Brennan tell each other how difficult that time apart was for them. But where do they do that? Like Booth once said, he's a constant surprise!


**A/N**: Watching a few eps of season 8 I had one thought. That booth was such a wonderful Daddy. So when I was watching 8x01 again, in first scene Brennan mentioned that when she and Christine would be back, the tree house would be done. So the idea of tree house for me, a girl who all her life lived in a flat, in the country where people don't usually build that things is kind of surreal. I wouldn't know how to even start building that thing so forgive me possible mistakes :D

**Disclaimer**: Obviously, I own nothing.

* * *

He wasn't going to fart. Really.

He considered it, yes. But he decided that it wasn't such a good idea if he wanted to kiss her again. And he wanted that _a lot._ After kissing her second time he stated that she wanted it as much as he did. Pulling apart and catching breath, she laid her head on his shoulder.

"Christine is asleep?" she murmured into his t-shirt.

"Yeah, apparently, it must have been a tiring day at the daycare."

They fell silent, drinking in the moment of tranquility. She tightened the embrace and he caressed her from hair to her back.

"Bones" he whispered directly into her ear "Were you in the backyard after you came back?"

She lifted her head and eyed him suspiciously.

"No. Why?"

"You'll see" he took her hand and led her to the screen door. He stopped just before, blocking her view and covered her eyes with his hand. They took together the final steps through the threshold.

"Ready?" When she nodded, he let his hand fall. "I should probably show it to Christine since it will be hers but I thought that you-"

"You made it" she smiled and looked at him.

"It" was situated on the tree, in the middle of the backyard, not painted, with a window overlooking their house. "It" was a medium sized tree house.

"It's not done yet. As you can see the roof's still missing. It's empty and not colored yet but I'd thought that I would wait till you came back you know… we would make decisions together. But well…yeah it's almost done. Surprise" he added with a small smile. Now they were both looking at the tree house covered with the blue tarpaulin in place of the roof.

"Can I see it from the inside?" Brennan asked him not taking her eyes away from the house.

"Yeah. Sure. Give me one sec." He said and rushed home. He double checked the locks, took a baby monitor lying next to his left scotch and checked one more time on sleeping Christine, kissing her cheek goodnight. When he was back, Brennan was walking around the tree, looking closely.

"This looks solid" she stated.

"Well…I told Hodgins about my plan to building this. And Hodgins being Hodgins… he made sure about every detail. He said that this thing can bear the weight of six people. You go first?" he asked, pointing at the ladder leaning on the tree. She nodded and he helped her with climbing up. Minute later, they were both sitting inside.

"Why your pillow and blanket are here?" asked Brennan despite knowing the answer deep down.

"Once, I might have worked till late hour and so I slept there. The next day, my back hurt so next time, I came prepared. Nights were pretty warm when you were gone but those splinters…good God. That's why the blanket's here."

She laid a blanket on the floor and then sat on it, patting the place next to her for him to also sit down.

"One more thing" he muttered. He pulled out the baby monitor from his jeans and put it next to the blanket. Then, he pulled the tarpaulin off, revealing beautiful, starry night sky. She looked enchanted. "Yeah, I thought you might like it" he added with a smile and finally laid on the blanked, head on the pillow, taking Temperance in his arms. Brennan not taking her eyes away from the view, laid her head on his chest. She was far away.

She spoke up some time later:

"Sweets helped me realize some things. I wanted to think that all those months away hadn't changed me. Sweets said that I should accept the fact that however it did happen. I know I've changed. But since we're together again, I want to get back to that time before… everything. Sweets also said that we were both so hurt that we were blunt and trying to avoid something inevitable. He suggested we should talk about it."

When he just kissed her temple wordlessly, as if giving her permission, she continued. She opened up and started recounting how afraid she was that they wouldn't meet her Dad in the first place. How she didn't know if they would have anything to eat without stealing. How she was taking photos of Christine every Friday night to capture all of the changes that Booth would have missed. How she had to dealt with rude customers or sulky co-workers. How she hated to dye her hair but her Dad assured her that it was needed. How she needed to change her persona. How she was once Jenny, Natalie, Joan and then Lisa or Stephanie when she wanted to be just _her_. She didn't have time to adjust. It needed to be done quickly. They couldn't have shown in public places, they needed to hide. How she sometimes couldn't bear her father's behavior. How the worst thought was the idea that she hurt Booth too much to be forgiven. She was afraid that after coming back there would be nowhere to go for her. She just left him. And she took their child with her. Angela's assurances that he still loved her- it wasn't enough. She needed to hear it from him, by herself.

When she was done, tear of memories were spilling down her cheeks. He turned and took her face into his hands. Murmuring while kissing the tears away.

"I'm proud of you. You did it. You were brave. Laying here, all alone in our bed with your part of the bed cold all the time, every night I was wondering where are you. If you had anything to eat or where to sleep. I knew that Max would take care of you but hell, I was freaking out. That you would get in trouble or get hurt. I should have been there with you. I thought that you needed me. But I was wrong. Terribly wrong. You were able to handle it. But when you came back it looked like you get used to…not needing me around." He stopped, giving her time to calm down. When she did, she resumed her position with head on his chest and listened him, this time.

That all this time he was working behind the desk. He even lost his own office and had to work with all of those agents in one big room. That after 7 hours of staring at their photo on his desk or trying to solve Pelant problem he came back to the empty house. How he thought that making a tree house may have distracted him a little. But every nail, every board reminded him of that person for who he was doing all of this. It didn't distract him. It motivated him. So he continued. And finally, he told her how mad he was. That he wasn't there with them. That he couldn't do anything. Help anyone. Not her, squints or other agents. It was like a blank page. Nothing has happened.

"I had eh… problems with sleeping. Pills couldn't help." He paused. "Even good, old, warm milk failed. Can you believe that?" he asked with a smile in his voice. She smiled gently under her nose.

"Were you sleeping at all?" she asked quietly.

"3 maybe 4 hours per night. I was walking up a lot in the middle of the night."

"Me too." She added and when Booth glanced at her she continued "I knew that I had to get some rest. But I had troubles with falling asleep. We needed to move from place to place quite frequently in first weeks, we were traveling at night sometimes. Me and Dad were taking shifts to guard. And all that time away, Christine was just restless. She knew that something wasn't right. She missed you very much."

She hugged him even tightly and burrowed her head into the crook of his neck. His scent. Familiar. Male. Boothy. Poor motels and those cheap soaps they offered made it very hard to remember the way he smelled. Like home. Booth had her clothes to breath in, her pillow, perfumes. She had nothing except of the delicate, baby scent of Christine. But Booth thought about it differently. Anywhere he looked, inhaled, listened. Everything was reminding him of her. Sometimes, yes. He was falling asleep clutching his FBI t-shirt, which was her pajamas, to his chest tightly. But sometimes looking at her things hurt that much that he just couldn't stand it so much that he wanted to take a walk to breath in some clear, not-Brennan scent.

"Bones?" he started but she only mumbled 'hmmm?'. "You have to know that I'm not letting you go. Never again. You're my life. When we were in the 'Snowdrop'...God, I was so relieved. Not only cause you were there…All of my worries just flew away. You were safe, healthy and completely fine and I was so happy."

"I thought that you were happy because of what happened next" she said lifting her head from his neck, to look at him, with a smirk. Booth smiled too and poked her in the ribs.

"Funny"

"I know. Like I said numerous times I'm quite-"

"-amusing, yes. I know. And you really are" he finished the sentence for her with smile and silenced her completely by kissing her gently. "You know, Sweets asked me if there were problems with our sex life" he said, breaking their kiss and stroking her cheek lightly.

"Angela apparently thought that too cause she said that instead of working, you and I should be 'locked in a bedroom, making up for lost time'." She quoted. Booth laughed and kissed her again.

"If they only knew…" he murmured against her lips. She chuckled at the thought of their first night together after all the charges against her were suspended. They definitely made up some time then.

He rolled her so now, he was the one on the top, still kissing her. Tasting the salt from her tears on her lips, nibbling her earlobe, raining kisses on the skin of her neck or decolletage. Hands moving practically everywhere, travelling, remembering, baring those parts of each other, which only the other one knew. Her jacked was laying across the tree house, so was his t-shirt. Then the pile was increasing when they were adding other elements of each other's attire.

And later, between moans and gasps they exchanged probably the most sincere 'I love you's.

* * *

Hours later, when the sun was raising slowly, Booth and Brennan were deep in their dreams. But Christine wasn't. So when Booth's heard his daughter fussing, he knew he had to wake up. He opened his eyes slowly, sat up and smiled. A perfect view to start a new day. Next to him was laying naked Brennan, covered only in his shirt which she used like a blanket. On Brennan, his t-shirt started little above her breasts and ended on the top of her tights. Hearing Christine getting more and more impatient he sighed quietly and reached for his pants and boxers to wear them. Apparently he wasn't as quiet as he thought cause Brennan opened her eyes slowly.

"What time is it?" she asked with a hoarse voice.

"I don't know, but it's early. Go to sleep, I'll check on Christine." Said Booth zipping his pants. He leaned in, kissed her cheek and then stroked it. "Good morning."

"It really is good" agreed Brennan kissing him, this time on the lips. Booth smiled one more time and made his way out.

"Hey Booth?"

"Hmm?" he turned to her once again.

"Would you be so _nice _and make me breakfast?" asked Brennan paraphrasing their conversation from the previous morning. His face lightened up with a smile

"That would be my pleasure, Bones"

"Toasts would be good"

"You got it, babe."

**End.**


End file.
